President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) that Russia was winning the war in Ukraine and portrayed the Ukrainian leadership as “terrorists” with whom it was not possible for Moscow to negotiate.
Russian troops had captured 270 square km (168 square miles) of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine in August, and a large group of Ukrainian troops were surrounded, Putin said. Mr. Reuters could not independently verify his statement. Mr. Speaking at a news conference after a summit in Kyrgyzstan, Mr.
Putin, in his most detailed comments on the war for many weeks, acknowledged that Ukrainian attacks inside Russia had inflicted real damage and said that drones posed a particular challenge. But he said that Russia was advancing on the battlefield and told reporters, “I have no doubt the enemy will crumble. Rumours that Russia would be forced to order a new military mobilisation were “utter nonsense”, he said. Putin said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s warning to airlines that Ukrainian drones would effectively shut down Russian airspace sounded like “state terrorism” and that Moscow would find a way to respond if it happened. Putin said it was not possible to negotiate with “terrorists”.
